Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:36 pm

Static couldn’t help but make a fair amount of noise as she shuffled down the tunnel she was in, pausing frequently to rest her leg. It was obvious it was fractured, pain shooting up to her knee with every step she took, even without putting weight on it. She had to put her hands either side of the tunnel to support herself, sliding her sword back into its sheath. It left her dangerously exposed if Rhys was hiding somewhere, but the man didn’t strike her as someone who would attack subtly. Not with that eyepatch.

She stopped dead as a loud shout, much closer than she had thought Rhys was (who else would it be?) echoed down her tunnel, coming from just ahead. It widened out, a perfect place for him to make a stand. Well, there was little to lose, and with a fractured leg, this was probably her last good chance at getting him to surrender before she passed out from the pain.
“Fool,” she mouthed to herself, rubbing her hands against her cloak to dry them again (ooh, definitely not going a good colour, and very numb too now) before drawing her sabre as slowly as she could, so she didn’t alert him as to where she was. Quietly now, she hopped forwards as fast as she dared, trying not to make too much noise. She spotted Rhys standing away slightly to one side, a trail of blood leading away from him through a tiny tunnel that opened into the cavern. He had crawled through that? No matter, it was time to end this.

She let a little electricity ball around her fingers, twisting up her arm and collecting under her palm theatrically, then posed a question to the man, giving him one last choice. She was in the mouth of the tunnel now, so he could see her.
“Do you submit?”

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:49 pm

Rhys watched Static enter the cavern, without so much as moving to attack. He wasn’t a sneaky man – he couldn’t manage subtlety if he tried, so there was no point. He stood still, flexing his hands as she twiddled around another bit of greenish light in her fingertips, his face spreading into one of his classic, lopsided grins. “Submit? You have got to be kidding. It’s victory or death from here on out. Why, you thinking about chickening out yourself?” He wasn’t sure where that had come from, but the fact that neither option struck fear into him sent a little shiver down his spine. It gave him a little thrill, knowing that his bravery had stuck with him (something it didn’t always do, he had to admit). So, this was it, was it? Well, he wasn’t going down easily. With a roar, he ran at Static, shoulder first in an attempt to knock her from her feet. The twisting motion opened up a line of fire along his side, but they were in an underground ice cavern – fire was his friend now.

Last edited by ElizaFlame13 on Tue Apr 17, 2012 5:31 pm; edited 1 time in total

"If you're actually out to hurt me now would be a good time to stop showing off." she remarked sourly. After several more attempts to hit him she started to feel the effects of both the cold, and slow but long term blood loss. When she finally noticed the stain on her shirt it nearly made her panic. If she lived through this she'd give him hell afterward. He did say he didn't want to hurt her, so she did one thing that was very, VERY, stupid. She dropped her main weapon, and she charged at him head on.

If she got injured doing this then she knew it was her own fault, but the likelihood of HIM being the reason she got hurt was minimal. 'Even if I lose, at least I proved to myself that I'm not totally useless.' she thought. 'Please don't hate me for this Jackie.' was another thing that cycled through her brain. She hoped this worked, otherwise she was in trouble.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:01 am

If they were in her territory, he'd be strung up all pretty and she'd have a time of showing him how defenseless a woman she was. But they were in a godsforsaken tournament. In Kaionar. And she was not only not expected to survive, she was expected to die... for the sin of surviving. True, she could have adapted to civilization, but a part of her had always been wild. A part of her had remembered everything her father taught her, and everything 'people' had shown her. The world was no less a wilderness behind walls. The only thing that set cities apart from the wilderness was that, in the wild, there was occasionally periods of long-lasting peacefulness. Briefly she wished he'd drop dead, but knew she couldn't be so lucky.

"I bet you can and would attack a 'defenseless' woman if it meant you survived and moved on" she said, glad the acoustics picked up her voice and carried around the spacious cavern. It meant her location was still a mystery. "I'm a better shot than you are. If it comes down to archery, I'll bugger your eye with the business end of my arrow" she said. Whether or not her skills were better than his remained to be seen. Bishop hunted for a living, though, and her primary weapon was the bow. The fact that it'd taken the man two arrows to get the job done with Dog (and not even, for it was only a flesh wound) meant he wasn't committed to archery.

However, she figured he was committed to his skills with a sword. The way he'd shattered the ice underneath her and practically hacked her in half, more than once coming close enough to swipe at her... she knew he had power, and if he wasn't constrained by the tunnel... well she knew she'd have difficulty with him. The last thing she wanted to do was to fight him on his terms.

She'd surely lose.

It was almost ludicrous, her going into battle with nothing but knives and a bow, all her hunting gear, hardly weapons as they were tools. She couldn't risk looking out to see where he was, but she knew he had to be inching around trying to catch a glimpse of her.

She rose abruptly and fired off an arrow, this time aimed at nothing armored. She wanted his sword arm. Level the playing field as it were... in her favor. She didn't remain upright, as that would be foolish. As quickly as she'd let the arrow fly, she'd ducked back down. Had her arrow flown true? Did she need to abandon this spot and hope to god he couldn't get his bow and arrows together so quickly as to feather her as she moved from hiding spot to hiding spot.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:54 am

Well, at least she had tried to give Rhys a chance. Static wasn’t going to shy away from his challenge however, now that he had given it. She wouldn’t have shied away from knocking him to pieces anyway, but she might have paused if it had come to killing him. He was a living, breathing human being… no, she would deal with any consequences or guilt later of those thoughts. She tried to put them out of her mind. Now, she needed to be in the present, and in a calm frame of mind. So she was ready.

She was ready when Rhys made his mad attack on her, angling her sword to one side so that his momentum didn’t slice her, as well as him, into ribbons. She brought her other hand across her front, lightning sparking down to the ground at their feet as she charged her hand up a bit more. There would be one hell of a bang when he hit that, and he wouldn’t be a happy bunny afterwards. It didn’t stop him from crashing right into her though, knocking her forcefully against the wall and down to the floor. A shower of lights exploded in front of her eyes at the pain and she shrieked, blindly lashing out with both her sword and electricity in Rhys’ direction.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 1:12 pm

Achos whistled a merry tone as he spotted Eliza, he was thankful for his strong memory, for he knew how to use the cold to his advantage now. But even if it was that easy to do, he must be careful. He easily moved ways behind her.

It is true that they worked side by side at some point but that does not mean he would not enjoy this. On the contrary, this just added more spices to the experience as a whole. He smiled wickedly before waving at her. Let her be confused about his almost-friendly behavior, it would not harm if he got to distract her a bit using his charms rather than the tricks he still wants to keep until he sees fit.

Might save me some trouble, after all, simple things rarely fail, and I've learnt that the hard way… His eyes hardened in determination.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 6:53 pm

The electricity in Static’s hand send a terrible quiver through Rhys’ body, making his skin burn where the energy had touched him, but he managed to follow his attack through, smiling a little as his opponent hit the icy wall behind her. Only when he heard her shriek did he let his knees give way, doubling over from the pain of the electricity boiling through his blood. That stuff /hurt/ damnit – more than steel even. He fell to his knees, weakened, but he knew it was too dangerous to stay still. He ducked under one stray shot of electricity, and gave a growl when a wild swing from Static’s sword caught his bicep, forcing himself upright on trembling legs. He could barely see for all the little green sparks, so aimed a heavy-handed punch for the vague middle of it, giving something in between a battle-cry and a howl of agony as the electricity bit him again. His fist connected with /something/, but it only took him a second to realise that he had just punched the wall instead, leaving his knuckles bloody, and him completely unbalanced, cradling his probably broken hand. Dang and blast. That was supposed to go much better than it had done.

--

Jackdaww winced as Silence’s verbal blow battered his pride, but forced himself to tighten up again, not letting his guard fall. He ducked under a couple of blows, caught one on the back edge of his blade and finally fell back as she cast her weapon aside. For a second he thought – no, he hoped – that she was submitting, but as she shifted to a position to charge from, the realisation hit him. She was doing no such thing, and wasn’t going to in the foreseeable future. He had a grand total of three other options, and only one of them led to him actually beating her. He danced sideways as she got close, his decision made, and brought his blade over in a sweeping arc. From there he could have issued a death blow, but he /liked/ silence. She was a nice girl, from what he had discovered, and he had no desire to hurt her. Instead, he angled his blade so that the flat would strike her across the temple. If he timed it right, she should be knocked unconscious, leaving him as the victor. /sorry Silence/ he thought, leaning his weight into the blow to ensure it had sufficient power. Now the fight was in the hands of good old lady luck.

--

Achos’ smile and wave startled Eliza, and she paused for a moment. However, the moist air of the frozen arena was bringing out the best of her. She blinked, and her eyes flickered green, the pupil elongating to show just one more sign of the sylph form that lay just below the surface. Her mind started to flick between the two mindsets that came with her interchangeable form, leaving her clear to reason (mostly), but barring most of her emotions. The human ones, that was. She grinned back, baring pointed teeth (for her teeth and eyes were the first things that changed between forms, leaving her looking like an odd combination of sylph and human in the moist but not /wet/ environment). Finally, she flicked the tip of her sword, aiming a vaguely playful blow as her opponent’s calf. She may have wanted to win, but she delighted in pain – especially in her volatile in-between state. She didn’t want to /kill/ her opponent, no. She just wanted him to dance.

Last edited by ElizaFlame13 on Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:42 pm; edited 1 time in total

The blow forced her unconscious quickly enough that she didn't have time to think or feel anything, everything just went black. Though waking up with a migraine the size of the city of Caspan wasn't the most pleasant way to regain her senses. She grumbled and muttered and swore but eventually sat up. Well at least she was alive, or so she hoped. It took a moment to realize exactly what had happened, and wondered where Jack was soon after. Had she legitimately hurt his feelings during her small fit of anger during the fight?

Fear and pain turned to guilt and worry fairly quickly, and when she was able to stand she went to find a medic to pass on a message for her, since she'd no idea where her friend had gone off to. After managing to write a short apology and a vote of confidence on a scrap of paper, she made her way to a seat closer to the remaining battles. What was the harm in being a spectator while she was there?

OOC: Silence has lost her battle.

Last edited by Rogue on Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:20 am; edited 1 time in total

The pain in Static’s leg stopped her from being properly satisfied as Rhys got a good helping of electricity dosed to him, hot tears collecting at the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t help it, her leg hurt too much. Who knew if her crazy shots were paying off, but he seemed to be hurting too, so maybe they were. She just had to hang on for a little longer, and avoid him if she could, especially from standing on her fractured leg; that would probably put her out of the game, and it wasn’t as though it was particularly hard to fall over, stretched out in front of her. His punch at the wall was thankfully poorly aimed (was his depth perception out due to his one eye? Or just rage getting in the way?) and she countered with another handful of sparks, lucid enough now to aim a kick with her good leg in the man’s crotch. That would teach him.

She stabbed wildly out with her sword too, aiming for the vague area where Rhys’ shout had come from. It was hard to see with sparks all over the air, but noise was as good an indicator as any to where he might be.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:08 pm

The kick seemed to come out of nowhere. It was officially the last thing Rhys had been expecting, so even through his watering eyes he had to give Static some credit for that. He gave a little, high whimper and doubled over, feeling just a little ill. However, he could just about see the point of Static’s sword through his watering eyes. He had no idea how faraway it was, and leaned to one side almost as if it was a backup plan – the way it scratched his neck and split the yellow handkerchief in two caught him by surprise. He swore, rolling to avoid getting cut, leaving his yellow scarf still skewered by the blade. Now it was easy to see where the scar over his eye met his neckline, and it would probably be easier to tell that it was just the trailing end of the attack that had split his side so brutally. He didn’t feel hopeful – things were going badly out of his favour. Feeling week, with his hand hanging limply where he’d hit the wall, he aimed a messy punch (which turned into more of a sloppy backhanded slap) as the direction the sword had come from, using his left arm to cover both his freezing stomach and the rather more precious are that had just been kicked – unable to rise above his knees. However, he had never been one for giving p - he hoped the red-splattered-yellow on the end of his opponent's sword would throw her off for long enough to land a couple of punches at least.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:39 pm

It was rewarding for Static’s kick to actually land, Rhys doubling over in obvious pain and falling to his knees. Oh, that was a really good shot. It gave her a moment to try and shuffle backwards, shoving with her hands against the damp floor and dragging herself up to the wall. She yelped again at the movement, but Rhys was obviously preoccupied. Surprisingly, she had managed to catch him with her sword as well, his scarf flapping around the long metal and falling down around her hand at one end. It tickled slightly, but her hand was too chilled for her to feel it all. His slap landed on her forearm, pushing her sword away from him for a moment and allowing him to get another punch in to her shoulder, half getting her armour, half getting her actual shoulder. It had a bit of force behind him, shoving her backwards against the ice behind her, but it was nowhere as strong as it could (or should) have been.

She caught his punch as he pulled back to attack her a second time, grabbing hold of his arm and pulled it up towards her, averting his punch but holding him close. He was strong enough to get free, but she wouldn’t give him that chance.
“End of the line,” she growled hoarsely, dropping her sword and forming a ball of electricity in her palm big enough to knock him out well enough to put her through to the next round of the tournament. She jabbed upwards with her hand, aiming for the base of his throat. He might be able to get away in time but honestly? It looked like the win was hers.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:56 pm

Rhys yelped as Static’s freezing fingers closed over his arm, pulling him in. Had this happened twenty minutes ago, he would have been out of her grip and laughing, but as it was he was barely strong enough to stop her pulling him over completely. He let her take his balance, and watched the ball of electricity grow in her palm with a slight smile tugging at the scarred corner of his mouth. “Sure does look that way, doesn’t it poppet?” he chuckled, letting himself relax just a little – looking for all intents and purposes like he’d given up. Then, a little gleeful spark lit up his eye, and his grin broadened. “But unluckily for you I like to dance until the music’s really stopped.” He swung his left hand (the free one, which was at least mostly in one piece) in a punch aimed for the side of Static’s head. Unluckily for him, however, that meant that his balance shifted just an inch too far, sending him rolling onto his back. Of course, in the slim chance that Static let go of his other arm, that was a good thing, and might even get him out alive, but that still left him lying on his back, weak and bleeding, and completely unarmed. How wonderfully grim – just like everything else that he seemed to have faced in his life. He grinned, even as his back hit the ground, before his fist got close to contacting Static – if indeed he managed to hit at all.

((PP granted if necessary))

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:04 pm

Static narrowed her eyes as Rhys relaxed- no, he couldn’t be letting her electrocute him, really?- but shoved her hand out anyway, hoping to catch him before he did something stupid. She focussed all her attention on getting a good hit on the man, aiming for the top of his chest; so was surprised to say the least when a punch came out of nowhere, snapping her head sideways with the force and making her see stars. Gasping, she dug her nails into Rhys’ arm, letting him drag her forwards a little as he rolled onto his back. Her grip had to be tight, his arm slippery with blood, and her fingers so cold it was hard to hold on, without thinking that they were going to snap off! Things were fuzzing in and out of view, and flickering, and looking strange, but she knew enough to send more power down into both her hands this time, in her confusion powering up in a strange jolting fashion, a lot of electricity at one moment, just a little at another. If Rhys had wanted an easy way out, then he had certainly forfeited it when he had punched her. Now it was going to be one helluva painful time; he had practically drawn out his punishment once she got a good grip on him.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:49 pm

If nothing else could wipe the somewhat twisted grin from Rhys’ face, the jolts of electricity could. He gave a howl, sinking his own nails into Static’s arm even as hers bit into his, and flung his head back against the ice. He kicked his legs pathetically, struggling faintly in a feeble attempt to break free, before gritting his teeth and forcing himself to lie still. His muscles twitched and shudders kept running down his back, and his blood felt like it had turned to molten iron. It wasn’t good. He forced his eye shut, trying to protect the one eye he had left. He didn’t want it damaging – not that he had any hope of actually living through it. He almost wished he could just pass out, but no such mercy had fallen upon him yet.

In one of the lulls in the flow of energy, Rhys managed to contort his face into a smirk – he wasn’t nearly strong enough to manage a grin anymore, but he could smirk. “Nice try, but I -” he croaked, his voice a jagged whisper, “I can still hear the bloody music.” Why was it he couldn’t stop himself making some sort of quip? Then, as the next more powerful surge started, he gave a wordless roar, more flailing than struggling.

(come one – finish him now 8D)

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:43 am

Yelping as Rhys struggled against her, Static closed her eyes and tried to channel her power more efficiently, cooling it slightly and making it steadier. It was obvious the man was on the blink now, barely moving apart from electricity-induced spasms. She gritted her teeth and held on though, pulling her free hand across to his chest and slamming it down with as much force she could muster, sending a charge of power enough to knock him out for a good few hours (if not kill him) into his body.

But of course, he had managed to get just that one last quip in beforehand. She held on just long enough until he had stopped screaming, then let go and flopped away, her arm bleeding where Rhys had returned her own grip with one like a vice of his own. She didn’t care though, feeling the ice cool her through her back, numbing what would be a helluva lot of bruises in the morning. At least she had beaten him, even if it had come at a bit of a cost.
Sitting up again, she touched one hand to her crooked leg, forcing herself to ignore Rhys. The tunnels were cold, and surely now the fight was over, someone would come and get them, before they both froze to death? She tugged her cloak tightly around her, trying not to shiver.
“Hello? Help?” she called, then gritted her teeth and pulled herself over to sit next to her prone opponent. If he had been trying to kill her a minute earlier, well, now he was good for being used as a radiator while she waited for someone to come.

((Static has won her fight against Rhys!))

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Wed Apr 18, 2012 4:01 pm

Bishop, it seemed, liked to think the best of a new acquaintance.
“Not one who had done me no personal harm,” Armeno replied, frowning slightly. “And as for the archery, I wouldn’t-“

The arrow which whizzed into the wall beside him startled him, making him jump back a little further behind his wall. Could she see him, perhaps? She’d certainly come close to hitting him. But he didn’t see how that could have happened; the wall of the tunnel seemed fairly thick. Well, no point in standing idle. He slipped his own bow from his shoulder once more, nocking an arrow to it and holding it ready to draw. However, it turned out he needn’t have bothered. A slight creaking sound seemed to be coming from all around the cavern, and it dawned on him suddenly that talking loudly in a huge hole in the ice hadn’t been the best of ideas.

The roof fell in just as he dived out of the tunnel and between two sturdy-looking pillars of ice.

Crouching low to the ground with his hands locked tightly over his head, Armeno shivered violently as a spray of snow and ice was scattered over him and immediately began to melt, leeching away his body heat as it did so. His bow hung loosely around his arm, the arrow fallen and lying on the floor some distance away. It didn’t seem like the avalanche was planning on letting up any time soon, and that sentiment was backed up when huge cracks appeared in the columns either side of him. Springing away with energy born of fear, Armeno sprinted for the only spot which still looked clear, a space on the other end of the room. A small tunnel, only big enough for him to crawl through, was set into the ice there; he was doubtful about its stability, but when he looked inside he could see that it had been reinforced with abundant metal. Obviously, the chamber hadn’t been rigged for the avalanche or anything.

A sound from behind made him glance around to see Bishop avoiding a chunk of large ice from the ceiling. She was probably heading for this exit too; he couldn’t see any other way out. It didn’t look like any of that room was going to survive; no point in delaying the inevitable. Numbly, Armeno dropped to his hands and knees and began moving through the tunnel as fast as he could.

When he reached the other end he immediately got to his feet, jamming his hands into his armpits and beginning to stride briskly around the room as he took it in. For him at this point, wet from the avalanche and getting colder every moment, staying still could well mean death. The chamber he now stood in was bare, its sides unnaturally smooth and obviously hollowed out from the ice especially for the tourney. Well, this fight would be an interesting one, anyway. At least he couldn’t feel his ankle hurting anymore, but he was too cold to fight at his best. Unsheathing his sword, he went to stand beside the opening of the tunnel, out of sight from its mouth. He needed to ambush her- but he wouldn’t be able to avoid making some noise, still having to jog on the spot and take care not to slip and fall. The crashes from the avalanche were still relatively loud in here though, so maybe that would muffle the slight sound of his feet tapping against the ice and the louder one of his heavy breathing. He could hear his heartbeat, of course, but Bishop wouldn’t be able to- their other senses might be the same, but elves had the enhanced hearing to go with their pointed ears.

Ooc: Hope that's all okay, Nen- I tried to stick to what we planned on skype Smile

Just let me know if you'd like anything changed!

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:02 pm

Gods, he was getting too old for this. However, no matter how many times he continued to say it, that didn't get him out of the situation any faster. At least down here in the ice caverns the wind wasn't blowing away all of the heat that he'd managed to produce. His natural fur coat was a far sight more effective down here in the cavern than it had been up on the plains, but his paws were still freezing cold. Blasted ice rink. Blasted battle! Irritated, Baldassarre tried his best not to slip on the treacherously sloped ground with the smooth ice and watched with some gratification as Rissul stuck his nose down the hole. A certain old proverb came back to him at that second as he reached into his coat for his second vial of acid. (He really hated using them. He only had three left.) "Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong." Using the force of the fall that his Metae barrier had provided, Baldasarre hurled the vial of acid up at Rissul's face, his fur bristling as the power exploded out of his paw and thrusted the vial harder and faster than he ever could have propelled it by himself. "You might get it bitten off!" He didn't believe in fair play or returning the concern of an enemy. Foolish things like honor were the quick way to get a body dead. Baldasarre could only hope that Rissul didn't learn that before their battle ended.

*~*~*

The small triumphant moment when Talos had the harpy on the backpedal didn't last long. She seemed to be mediocre at best with that small dagger of hers, and he didn't want to get a taste of what her claws were like. With the intention of keeping her back and wounded, Talos went to strike again while the harpy clutched at her wounded wing, intending to for a surrender. He never got a chance to follow through however.

The harpy's screech did more damage than any of her flailing attempts at engaging in combat with him. Talos had always had sensitive hearing, a trait passed down through his family for generations. Usually a helpful trait given his night-blindness, now it was serving as a huge detriment to his combat abilities. He only just barely stopped himself from clasping his hands to his ears in a vain attempt to stop the sudden screech from seemingly splitting his head in half and staggered backwards, defenseless and at the mercy of Kidas as she rammed into his side, the treacherous ground doing its work on his footing and he was down again.

Talos' shoulder cracked against the ice which in response gave an ominous crack of its own. The last thing he wanted was to end up in a hole again, and the harpy would no doubt be trying to slice him open with those claws of hers, hot on his heels and looking to get revenge for the nick he'd put in her wings. The impact with the ice took his breath away and his wings protested agains the impact, his numbed wings stinging like thousands of needles had pricked the membranes. Keeping his swords firmly in hand, Talos let the momentum of the fall and the ice carry him into a backward and slightly sideways rolling summersault, forcing his wings to open and help him complete the maneuver. HIs ears were still ringing from the harpy's screech when he landed on his knees, facing Kidas and started regaining his feet, the neck warmer he'd been using to protect his head having come untied and was now fluttering in the wind across the arena.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Thu Apr 19, 2012 3:01 am

Gallant, as well. Apparently the man wouldn't make a move until he was in a position to defend himself. Smiling a little at the man's kindness, Veces grabbed the hilt of his scythe and stood, using the shaft to help push him up as if it were a cane. Standing erect, he stared across at his opponent, gripping his scythe gently, feeling a gently buzzing as the crystal in the blade from the raw magic compiling inside of it. There was plenty, but if all went well he would only need to use a fraction of its full power.

The Reaper lifted the scythe into the air and spun it around a few times, turning his body in a fluid fashion, untl he was facing his opponent, knees bent, the end of the hilt pointed at his foe and the blade back, the sharp edge catching the light and making the crystal shine. A small smile playing across his lips, Veces stares into the man's eyes and nods. He is ready.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:52 am

Mas nods to his opponent when he sees he is ready. He noted the shine of the blade on the scythe, and the sigil on his hand begins to itch. That tell tale annoyance meant there was something special about that blade. Just meant Mas would have to make doubly sure to stay away from its biting edge. Reaching behind him he pulls the twin swords from their sheaths on his back. The silver blades flash in the muted winter light. He shifts his weigh to the balls of his feet like a boxer or a fighter getting ready for the round one bell.
He rotates his wrists the blades flashing as he loosens up. Not like he needed it but it was his own tell. All around him he could hear the others fighting and was ready for theirs to begin. He takes a step towards his silent opponent.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:52 pm

All around her the cavern was collapsing. It took the entirety of her concentration to focus on not getting crushed by falling chunks of ice. She didn't notice Armeno flee into the tunnel, but upon spotting it, she realized it was the only way out, the only safe place with all the ice raining down. She dodged falling snow and ice to get to the tunnel and paused just outside the entrance, looking around for her opponent. Surely he would not remain in this place either, and if he had been crushed or was dead... wouldn't the officials stop the fight. Or could they even be seen? Well dammit, if he was crushed, there'd be red among the white and she couldn't see any.

After a chunk of ice came far too close to crushing her for her liking, Bishop crawled into the tunnel, not at all as cramped as a grown man like Armeno might be. She noticed the scraping against the sides of the tunnel and stopped crawling. So he wasn't crushed. He'd crawled through as well. She could only suspect it was him, who else was down here with her? She took a deep breath and stared at the end of the tunnel.

He was surely waiting for her to come out. Any smart man would. Why take a chance on your opponent getting out to safety and fighting you fairly? She would stand at the entrance and wait for him to come out. He was probably waiting to chop her head off. She rubbed her neck self consciously and chewed her lip. What to do? She couldn't go back. She couldn't go forward.

"I know you're there" she said, sounding defeated. "Smart move, I'd have done the same. Then again, I'm a woman, smaller than you, probably not as physically strong. Not as brave in combat or all that great in hand-to-hand... so yeah, I'd ambush you" she said, paused. "I don't know if this win will taste as sweet, when my head rolls across the snow, but I'm sure you'd like being called 'The Headsman'... though the title might be stained by the fact that you ambushed a woman you could have probably taken down in a one on one, face to face battle".

What was she thinking? He probably could take her down in one on one combat. But... there was always the chance he'd leave her alive, versus dying here, in this tournament. The last thing she wanted to do was to give her captors the satisfaction of dying.

"Look I don't mean to be bitchy and all that. It's just I'm doing this because I have no choice. I have to fight for my freedom, and I'd rather not achieve that through death. Defeat me in one on one battle and I'll yield, and if, by some miracle, I defeat you, and you yield, I'll spare you if you spare me".

It was the best she could offer, her best tactic to employ. It was all down to how crafty within the battle she could be, and it was all down to Armeno's answer. If he said no, she'd wait him out in the tunnel.

That is, if he had been waiting to chop her head off at all. If he had been the first through the tunnel and wasn't behind her ready to make her a skewer. Her heart was beating hard in her chest and the only thing keeping her from crying in frustration was her own sense of dignity.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:59 pm

As Bishop spoke on, Armeno’s mouth curled into a slightly amused smile. She certainly employed some interesting tactics.
“Of course I’m here,” he agreed. “I’m not sure why you think I’d behead you, though. It’s not easy, it’s a good way to blunt a sword, and I wouldn’t kill you if I didn’t have to. Much easier to simply hold the blade to your throat until you surrendered.” He paused, wondering just what the woman was hoping for. She sounded more confident of losing than winning, and she seemed quite sure that he was going to kill her the moment he got a chance. He hadn’t shown anything to the contrary, it was true, but he hadn’t been especially bloodthirsty either. Neither of them had had much of a chance to yet- though it was clear by this time that she was always going to choose flight over fight.

Until now, apparently. After a few moments mulling over her request, dancing from one foot to another as he clamped his hands firmly in his armpits, he nodded and jogged across the room with care.
“Alright, a fair fight. The winner will spare the loser’s life- if at all possible. You’d better come out of that tunnel.” The circular chamber was no more than ten metres in diameter, and so Armeno was wary as he stood, sword drawn, ready to fight. There was really no telling what Bishop would do when she came out of the tunnel, and he wasn’t going to take any chances by assuming they’d shake hands before the fight began or any other pleasantries. Maybe the woman had requested a fair fight, but… she didn’t seem the type to go through ceremonies. Armeno could tell that his ankle was going to be something of a hindrance, even if he couldn’t exactly feel it, and he just hoped that whatever injuries she had sustained from her two falls were enough that he wasn’t too disadvantaged. At least he’d be able to deal some proper damage now; he hadn’t seen a sword on her, so his reach was going to be far longer. If he kept her at a good distance, she might not be able to touch him.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:44 am

Warily she climbed out of the tunnel, relieved to find him across the chamber. She looked around and then at him. "Winner and loser find way out of cave, or winner and loser die" she suggested and grinned. She tipped her hood off, allowing her long, thick dark red hair to spill down around her shoulders. Her canted, cornflower blue eyes studying him for what seemed like the first time. She had been doing a lot of running and hiding. It was her style, hide and ambush, but she'd gotten it all wrong since the beginning, with Dog being taken down. She laid her bow down near the wall, and slipped her quiver off, setting it beside the bow.

"No tricks, see?" she said and walked forward a bit.

He had a sword. Gods be damned.

She'd almost forgotten. She felt almost silly drawing her knives, one a carving knife the other a hunting knife. They were both recently sharpened, and well used. She knew her way around them, but would that be enough? He certainly knew his way around his sword, if the scare in the tunnel was anything to go by.

She was still packed in her furs, having discarded the hood near her bow only so that she could see in her peripheries. It was easy to see that she was lean and muscular. Not at all freezing, but not at all eager to be out in this weather any longer than she had to be, though being in the cave did cut out the wind as a factor.

"Ready?". She wasn't, but it was now or never, she supposed.

Last edited by Artemis on Sat May 05, 2012 11:43 am; edited 2 times in total

As soon as she had emerged from the tunnel, Armeno began to examine Bishop. No, she didn’t have any long-reaching weapons on her. She didn’t seem to be suffering too much from the cold, either, though she did look chilled at least. And- there was the miracle- she was completely unharmed. Not a scratch, not a limp, not an arm held awkwardly. Maybe she’d bruise a bit later on, but he could hardly still believe that this was luck after an 8 foot fall, his various close attacks and the tumble she had taken down the tunnel. Hopefully whatever spell she had for protection was one which he would be able to break down easily. Or perhaps if he got a good, direct hit in, that would do the job; maybe it was just a good luck charm. Either way, he was going to have to fight his best to get this over quickly enough.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t plan on dying whatever the outcome of the fight,” he informed her seriously, removing his own bow and quiver as she had hers, placing them neatly together and against the wall. “No tricks. My blade, your blade.” Not willing to let her get too close, he circled around the walls as she stepped towards him, examining the knives she had drawn. They could do some damage all right, and she was holding them like she knew what to do with them- however, one of them looked more like it belonged in a kitchen than a battlefield, and both had obviously been sharpened frequently to thin edges. If he caught a strong blow on the flat of his own blade, then the knife was going to come away with far more damage.

That one, questioning word was all he needed to trigger into action.
“Ready,” he replied firmly, before lunging out at her with a slash at her arms which he followed up by snaking the tip of his sword back. He didn’t pause as he stabbed it back in the direction of her thigh muscles before half-hopping, half-sliding back on his good foot.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sun Apr 29, 2012 7:11 pm

It wasn't like she was unharmed. She had scrapes and bruises everywhere, but she'd fallen correctly when she fell into the tunnel and into the chamber. Bishop knew how to work through pain, and after many worse pains, like childbirth and broken bones, Bishop had learned to shrug off the small stuff. Though she didn't think he could see any part of her besides her hands and her head, after all she was completely covered in animal skin and furs. If he could, well that'd be an interesting power, though she'd question its use. There were no spells of protection, just Bishop's own common sense and collective experience of being hurt and attacked.

Her knives had been taken off of travelers, and whatever she got she kept. It was hard to find weapons in the wild, when most often, you were the only human for miles. She made her own knives too, and those bone and stone knives were hidden away on her person. The last thing she wanted to do was to give him a complete count of the knives she had on her person. Let him think she only had two.

She parried the thrust to her arm with both knives, absorbing the shock of the blow. Had she tried to block it, she had no doubt that she'd stagger as a result of the force. She would have to avoid blocking, which meant a lot of parrying and dodging. She didn't have time to think or coordinate an offensive as he stabbed toward her thighs. She dodged it, noticing as he hopped back, that he favored one leg over the other. He was in pain, but he was handling it well.

She rushed him, slashing high near his face and low near his hands. She did not want to give him a chance to thrust with his sword again. She needed to get inside his range, close to his body so swinging a sword would be ineffective.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat May 05, 2012 11:57 am

She was obviously an agile one, dodging him and deflecting his attack with a surprising level of skill. Maybe he had the more useful weapon here, but she obviously knew what she was doing with hers. Not that he didn’t… But he had to admit that he had, perhaps, underestimated. Hopefully she hadn’t poisoned them or anything low like that. He did have one poisoned dagger on him, but he wasn’t intending to use it in the tournament- it was just something he always carried.

When she came at him, obviously- and sensibly- trying to get inside his sword, he ignored the pain in his foot as he put weight on it and continued to circle around the perimeter of the room, weaving his weapon around and always keeping it in front of her so that she couldn’t get close enough to attack. That wasn’t getting him anywhere in the low run, though, and when he withdrew slightly before making an attack one of her cuts succeeded in scoring across the back of his hand. It was painful and it was bleeding, but it was shallow and the blood was coming out sluggishly in the cold. He ignored it and continued his attack, using the little bit of extra space he had gained by pulling back to get more power behind his blow as he aimed for her shoulder, the lethal point of his blade directed to stab right through her furs and into the gap between her collarbone and her ribs.

» Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Dragons
» Grand Tourney! Fight for the Purse!
» (T4, Kaionar) Like Herding Cats (18th Board)
» Snazzy post-tourney times [Kat/Rogue/North]
» The Dragons Have disappeared.